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Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl offered an emotional apology on Monday to military personnel wounded during the search after he went missing and described the emotional damage he suffered during five years as a prisoner of the Taliban.

Donald Trump seized on the case during the election campaign, suggesting that Sgt Bergdahl was a traitor and should be shot or thrown from an aeroplane without a parachute.

Shannon Allen after delivering evidence about injuries suffered by her husband during the hunt for Sgt BergdahlCredit:
The Fayetteville Observer via AP

On Monday, Colonel Jeffery Nance, the judge in the case, ruled that Mr Trump’s comments had not affected the chances of a fair trial but that he would take them into account when he announced the sentence.

The court also heard from the wife of Sgt Mark Allen, who was badly wounded during a mission to gather intelligence from two villages in July 2009.

Shannon Allen's voice faltered as she described how brain injuries meant her husband was confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak to his daughter, who was an infant when he was hurt.

“He's never had the chance to really play with her or help coach her sports or ask about her day,” she said.